The Senior ABA Championships have throughout history been the flagship of amateur boxing.

It has down the years produced so many winners of distinction who have gone on to either Olympic medal success or even world titles in the professional arm of the sport.

Now, however, the ABAs have lost a lot of glitz and glamour in the eyes of the public.

Why? Because the cream are either fighting in the World Boxing Series, who are contracted to the world governing body AIBA, or are in the GB squads under the juristiction of the Great Britain Amateur Boxing Association. That leaves the ABAE toothless when it comes to their own championships.

It all means the likes of former ABA champion Lawrence Osueke from Newcastle, who is a World Boxing Series boxer, cannot display his skills in the tournament which first brought him to public prominence and if he doesn’t enter at his weight then how can the guy who wins the ABAs truly be called amateur champion of England?

In virtually every ABA weight category the No.1 and 2 boxer in the country are missing, usually performing under the GB banner. Yet there is an argument that these fighters can hardly be ranked as the best if they don’t fight their domestic challengers on a big stage.

The senior side of amateur boxing is certainly being killed as a spectator sport because the public are deprived of seeing the top names.

For example, Josh Kelly (World Youth bronze medallist and a top talent coming through) against Sam Maxwell (World Boxing Series boxer who has just boxed Vasilly Lomenchenko, two-time Olympic champion three-time World champion) would have packed not just the Rainton Meadows Arena in the early rounds of the Senior ABAs last week but any hall anywhere.

While schoolboy and junior/youth boxing is buzzing the cream has been skimmed off the seniors’ premier event.

The fear is real for senior amateur boxing over the next decade. All the top talent is being gobbled up by the GB and WBS programmes, which means grass roots boxing, which produces the future champions, is being starvedm which could have dire consequences.

Amateur boxing is riddled with political agendas and there is a vote in June about whether AIBA (World Governing body for amateur boxing) rules in this country are accepted. If they are not we will be banned from competing internationally.